


fireside

by tealady19



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Getting Together, M/M, Post-War, Season 8 Doesn't Exist, winter feels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-14
Updated: 2019-12-14
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:08:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,623
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21779611
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tealady19/pseuds/tealady19
Summary: “Would you believe me if I told you this is the first time I’ve seen snow?”  He turns to look over at Shiro, snowflakes dusting his long, dark lashes.  Shiro’s stuck admiring his quiet beauty for a beat too long.  Keith doesn’t say anything else though, and the silence grows around them in the night.--Shiro's taking a week's holiday in the mountains, and runs into an unexpected visitor- who's entirely welcome.
Relationships: Keith/Shiro (Voltron)
Comments: 27
Kudos: 98





	fireside

**Author's Note:**

> I've been in love with the sheith fandom pretty much since I started watching vld over a year ago.. but I'm also the shyest person so. 
> 
> Here are some soft, happy boys on a day when we probably all need it. I know I'm incapable of writing them any other way.

Shiro’s sitting at the bar in the Olkari-fusion microbrewery he’s recently taken to inhabiting when he’s on shore leave. It’s up in the Colorado mountains, and is as far from the desert as he can get while still being close enough to the Garrison in case of emergencies. This week, he needs to be somewhere not hot and dusty. He’s never been a skier, his grandparents and doctors weren’t too keen on letting him learn when he was a kid - too many head injuries that could happen if he was rocketing down a hill and lost control. He learned to fight his battles for the stars instead.

But he loves winter hikes, and being in the mountains reminds him of home. It’s refreshing to see snow when he’s spent so many years either in space, or in the desert. Pidge would disagree with him though, judging by the snarky comments she’d sent back after he’d texted her outdoor pictures to prove he was actually taking leave.

Either way though, sometimes - occasionally, after everything that has happened - Shiro likes to take a week for himself and spend it in the mountains. He’s done it once before, last year, and spent most of it at the chalet, re-remembering how to make his grandfather’s oden and rigging a makeshift kotatsu out of a space heater and a quilt over the coffee table (and maybe some video-called in help from Pidge after he almost set himself on fire). He’d found this microbrewery on a late-week grocery run after prematurely using up all the carrots, and promptly fell in love with the homey atmosphere and frankly delicious beer.

He’s nursing another citrusy sour as the door opens and shuts again, allowing another patron to come in. There aren’t a whole lot of people, but enough for Shiro to feel suitably anonymous in the quiet murmur of voices. He doesn’t look up at the new face.

That is, until he feels someone sit down at the bar on his right, and turns to see inky black hair braided over one shoulder and familiar dark eyes with a particularly pleased smile staring back at him.

“Hey, oldtimer.”

Shiro gapes, beer almost forgotten in his hand as he blinks twice. “I-- _Keith?”_

His best friend laughs, smile creeping all the way across his face. “Surprised?”

Shiro very carefully remembers to put his glass down before he drops it or spills it or does something equally stupid. The next moment both arms are around Keith and he’s pulling him in towards his chest for a sturdy hug. Keith’s arms are around his middle and he sighs as he turns his face into Shiro’s neck. “How did you find me way out here?”

Keith holds on for a little longer before drawing back. “I, ah, got it out of Veronica actually.” He flags down the bartender to order a porter with bitter notes of dark chocolate and cherry, only taking his eyes off of Shiro for a moment as he does. “Mom made me take a vacation.” He wrinkles his nose at the memory. Shiro takes a sip of his own drink as he listens.

“She told me she was keeping the wolf, and that I wasn’t allowed to go back and visit either them or Kolivan for at least two movements, preferably a phoeb. And then I found out she’d conspired with Pidge - or, let’s be real, with _Mrs Holt_ , do you know what it’s like since they became friends? - and made sure that my ship was set on a course for the Atlas, and I couldn’t change it? So I spent a day with Hunk but he was also just leaving - Veronica told me you were on leave out here and I just- I thought, I guess..” His posture goes shy at the end, one shoulder hiking up, and Shiro’s quick to settle his Altean hand on Keith’s left shoulder before he keeps rambling.

“I mean, I’m surprised, but- it’s really good to see you, Keith. I thought it’d be another two months before we were in the same system again.” He watches Keith smile into his beer, feels him lean just slightly more into the hand on his shoulder. Shiro lets his tech fingers brush at the baby hairs at his nape that have escaped the braid.

They’ve been dancing around each other like this every time they come back together. With Keith working with the Blades, and the Atlas’ peacekeeping missions, they sometimes overlap and Keith is stationed onboard, but more often than not, at least right now, they’re more frequently apart than they are together. It makes these small affectionate gestures impossible to resist.

Keith’s shifted his barstool close enough their thighs are pressed together, and he can still feel the chill through Keith’s dark jeans, snow melting off his boots. He’s still taking a sip of his beer but Shiro’s watching, so he sees the moment Keith notices the bar snacks in front of another patron and his gaze turns hungry. Shiro laughs, bringing his attention back from the food.

“You want something to eat?” He’s already reaching for a menu card, when Keith’s stomach grumbles audibly, and his face turns bright red.

“I, uh, maybe skipped dinner on my way here.”

“Well,” Shiro slides the card over between them, “the menu’s not huge, but these Olkari _venkar_ are both delicious, filling, and quick to make.”

“You can’t use ‘both’ to describe them and then use three descriptors, Shiro. I thought you spoke English.” He signals to the bartender to order a plate of _venkar_ , avoiding Shiro’s incoming swat without looking.

“Listen, you brat, I’ve already had two of these, so I’m allowed to English as I see fit.” He shakes his half-empty glass to punctuate his words, just managing to not spill it all over Keith. “I speak enough languages as it is!” The cheeky grin on the other’s face is too much to keep Shiro pouting for too long though. He’s winding his arm back around Keith before their food arrives.

***

They’ve had enough pints that Shiro’s glad he walked over from the chalet - it’ll only take them about twenty minutes to get back over there, and the roads are pretty clear despite the fat flakes falling from the sky. He’s not sure if he’d prefer to see stars or to watch the snow, but Keith seems just as charmed, either way. He’s left the car he’s borrowed in the parking lot after clearing it with the owners - they aren’t particularly tipsy, but it’s always better to be safe than sorry when it comes to these things, in Shiro’s correct opinion.

Keith’s braid swings behind him as he walks through the snow, leather jacket and fuzzy sweater combination somehow enough to keep him warm, though he does at least also have a scarf.

The snow collects on branches as they pass by, not quite heavy enough yet to fall. There aren't many other cars but they stick to the edge of the road regardless, side by side, close enough that their arms brush. Shiro was bold enough to rest his arm around Keith in the brewery, but outside now feels a little too private. He's not sure where they stand.

He's deep enough in thought and is comfortable enough being silent with Keith that he doesn't notice the handful of snow being shoved down the back of his sweater until it makes him jolt, a noise escaping him that is at least two octaves higher than he thought he could make. Keith dances away from his swipe, cackling. Shiro shakes himself out as a shiver runs down his spine. “You little shit!”

In his mirth, however, Keith seems to have forgotten that Shiro’s arm isn't actually attached, and as he turns to duck another left handed grab at his jacket, he turns straight into a face full of snow from Shiro’s right. The indignant yell Shiro gets out of it is totally worth the subsequent snow fight, neither of them really taking enough time to properly form snowballs. They're laughing too hard to have any kind of stamina, however, and soon enough they're leaning against each other, stupid smiles on their faces and clothes half soaked.

Shiro drops his arm down from Keith's shoulders as the two of them turn to keep walking, following the line of his braid with his hand before returning it to his pocket to warm up. Keith's also warming his stiff fingers in his jacket pockets, a soft little smile on his lips. It melts Shiro's heart thoroughly.

They're walking quietly for another few minutes before Keith speaks up again.

“Shiro.”

“Hm?” He looks over, nose buried in the thick scarf around his neck and starting to wish he had brought a glove for his left hand after all. Keith’s fallen a bit behind to stare up into the falling snow.

“Would you believe me if I told you this is the first time I’ve seen snow?” He turns to look over at Shiro, snowflakes dusting his long, dark lashes. Shiro’s stuck admiring his quiet beauty for a beat too long. Keith doesn’t say anything else though, and the silence grows around them in the night.

He could tease him about it, could remind Keith about those ice planets and winter storms they’ve experienced on other worlds as early as those first days as Voltron. But the more he thinks, the quieter he his, he thinks Keith means he’s never seen snow on earth. Never experienced the muffled, private space that is being alone, outside, during a light winter snowfall. Never quite looked at Shiro the way he is now, like Shiro is just as precious as this moment is fragile, and he’s afraid of breaking it, of taking a step too far.

Shiro can do that for him. He can be brave, this time, when Keith has been so brave for so long. He’s not exactly sure what he’s going to say, but when he opens his mouth, what comes out is, “what do you think of it?”

Keith’s looking right at him, expression open. “It’s beautiful.”

Shiro’s not sure which of them moved, or if it’s both of them, but he’s suddenly close enough that he’s brushing the snowflakes from Keith’s cheek with his thumb, his cold human hand, and Keith is holding that hand to keep him in place, radiating warmth. “Shiro, I-”

Shiro’s other hand, so big, comes up to cradle Keith’s jaw so, so softly. “Keith, can I- can I kiss you?”

“Yeah,” Keith breathes out against his lips, already moving. “Please, Shiro, yeah-” he can’t say any more because Shiro is kissing him and all that dancing around, trading touches and glances and enduring their friends’ teasing is culminating right here. Shiro’s kissing Keith as the snow falls around them and all he can think about is that this is exactly where he wants to be. Keith’s lips are soft and they move just slightly against his own, and he can feel Keith’s other hand sliding up his arm to rub through the short hairs on the back of his head.

It feels like ages before they break the kiss, Keith rocking back on his heels, neither of them realising he’d been stretching to reach up. They stay only a few inches apart, just enough to look into each other’s eyes.

“Okay,” says Keith. Shiro.. doesn't know what to make of that. He's about to open his mouth when Keith continues. “Okay, it's my turn.” He pops up on his toes, winding both arms around his neck, and kisses Shiro again. This time it's full of fire and heat and passion, and Shiro couldn't stop his groan even if he wanted to. He tangles his fingers in the soft hair at the base of Keith’s braid, and presses his tech palm flat against his back, his fingers almost spanning the whole width. He angles Keith’s jaw as the younger man licks along the seam of Shiro’s mouth, asking for entrance Shiro will gladly give him. Shiro will give him anything he wants.

***

They spend enough time wrapped up in each other that they’re shivering as they reach the front door, still grinning and hands clasped tightly together. Shiro fishes clumsily for his keys - the walk and the chilly air (and adrenaline) has cleared the residual alcohol fogginess from both of them, but the cold has also numbed the receptors for his arm at the shoulder port a little. Keith hides a smile in his flesh shoulder as Shiro curses when he drops the keyring in the snow on the front steps, but has to be grateful that he can just send his arm to get them and not break away from the solid line of warmth at his side.

The door unlocks and the inside of the house is invitingly warm, the tiled entryway for wet boots giving way to the broad hardwood floors. Shiro’s house slippers are lined up neatly on the wood, and he slides into them as he’s hanging up his coat, still clinging to Keith’s hand.

“Wow,” Keith comments as he’s standing inside in his sweater and thick socks, scarf and coat hanging next to Shiro’s. “You look pretty cozy.”

Shiro grins at him, and then tugs him forward with their joined hands. “I could say the same about you. Come on, I’ll give you the tour!”

Keith follows after him, his socks quiet against the tak-tak of Shiro’s slippers. He points out the living room, bathroom, the fancy dining room complete with chandelier that Shiro definitely ate half a take-out pizza in last night, right out of the box, and the hallway towards the bedrooms. They end up in the kitchen, Shiro boiling the kettle and pulling out coconut whipped cream and hot chocolate mix. Keith's digging around in the alcohol cupboard left by the chalet owners for their guests, ostensibly for something to liven up their drinks. Shiro had been just planning on piling on an excessive amount of whipped cream to make up for the fact that he hadn't bought enough plant-based milk for them to make hot chocolate without water, but Keith seems to have other ideas.

On cue, he pops up from examining the bottles with a small, rounded one in his hand, and a cheeky grin on his face.

“I knew this place would have something classy!” He holds out the bottle of brandy and Shiro takes it with a matching grin.

Keith leans his elbows on the counter to watch Shiro carefully eyeball what’s probably too much brandy into each of their oversized mugs, and then spray the whipped cream in an obnoxiously tall tower. He considers them on the counter, before reaching over and squirting a bit of cream on the end of Keith’s nose, which he subsequently kisses off. Keith snorts out a laugh, and pulls him down for a proper kiss. Leaning over the countertop island isn’t particularly comfortable though, so they break apart soon.

“Are you still hungry?” Shiro asks, realising it’s a rhetorical question halfway through and Keith’s Galra metabolism means he could eat constantly if given the chance. “I still have half a pizza from last night - it’s broccoli and mushroom!” He grins as he tosses Keith a look over his shoulder, complete with waggling eyebrows.

“Shiro.” Shiro can feel his grin widen. It’s always been so much fun to pester the dry sarcasm out of Keith. “We are not having classy hot chocolate with _cold pizza_ \- I’m going to tell Hunk about this blasphemy.” Keith narrows his eyes at what, no doubt, is a stupid look on Shiro’s face.

Shiro pouts, one hand on the refrigerator door, the other pressed against his chest as he leans backwards. “You’d rat me out, babe?”

Keith’s mouth opens, and then closes again, and Shiro gets to watch the flush that spreads over his cheeks. Oh, he likes that?

“Come on, baby,” he tries again, and delights in watching the blush spread further across Keith’s face. “You can keep a secret, right?”

Keith snatches up his mug of chocolate and takes a sip. “You’re an ass.”

Shiro snickers and lets go of the fridge door. “Okay, okay, but I’ve got chips and chocolate-covered caramels that we can demolish instead, if you’re really dead set against pizza.” Keith gives him a side eye at the mention of potato chips and Shiro goes to grab them. He’s always preferred salty more than sweet when it comes to junk food, Shiro knows.

Keith swipes the bag of regular potato chips as soon as Shiro sets it on the counter. At one point early in their friendship, Shiro had tried to offer Keith other flavours of chips, or even the half salted ones, a little worried about the way the kid would scarf that much sodium. Keith had stopped, stack of salty chips halfway to his mouth and had given Shiro such an affronted look. _Shiro,_ he’d said, almost appalled, _only the salty ones are any good._ Like it was obvious. Shiro had patted him on the shoulder and just left it alone.

Learning about Keith’s Galra heritage really does put a lot of things in perspective.

Shiro’s reaching for the chocolates that he keeps on a high shelf because self-control while on holiday is notoriously low, though _reaching_ isn’t quite the right term anymore - he sends his arm up to get them, but still has to be careful not to knock over small items that he can’t focus on because they’re further away. He’s grateful that his eyesight has always been pretty stellar, because sometimes it’s hard to focus on grabbing the right item, or not knocking something over when his arm is so far away. He rocks back down on his heels with his prize and turns to see Keith watching him with a small smile on his face.

“What’s that look for?”

“You’re just cute like that.” Keith’s cheeks are still a little red as he says it; like he can’t quite believe he’s saying it out loud. Shiro understands that completely - it feels like they’ve been together forever one minute, but the next he remembers that they had their first kiss maybe an hour ago and it’s staggering. Both that he gets to have it, but also that it’s only been that long.

He’s not quite ready to think about what happens tomorrow. He’s hoping, maybe prematurely, that Keith will want to share his room, even if all they do is sleep. But there are two other bedrooms if Keith needs some space; that decision is up to him. Tomorrow they’ll see about picking Keith’s car up from the brewery parking lot, and then maybe he’ll decide to go back to the Garrison or continue on his way somewhere else but.. Shiro’s letting himself hope that maybe he wants to stay a little longer, and they can hike together in the afternoon sun and make out on blankets in front of the fire in the evening dark. If the look in his eyes is anything to go on, Shiro might even be bold enough to bet on it.

The thought of Keith spending the night jolts him suddenly, as they move to take their snacks to the living room - Keith didn’t bring a bag with him as they walked back. He barely remembered to grab his wallet off the bar, and Shiro hasn’t seen him bring a datapad out at all, so it might be in the car still too, along with any other clothes he has.

“Oh,” he says, pausing his steps. Keith raises an eyebrow at him in question. “You didn’t bring any extra clothes.”

“I didn’t,” Keith has a small smile on his face, like he knows where Shiro’s thoughts are going.

“You’ll, uh- I can lend you something to sleep in?” It’s framed as a question, but that’s mostly because the image of Keith wearing Shiro’s clothes has him stumbling over his words.

“Do I need something to sleep in?” It’s thrown over his shoulder with an innocent look that would fool precisely nobody. Shiro still gapes at him as he rounds the corner into the living room, and tries not to drop his drink for the second time that evening.

***

Neither of them are particularly small anymore, even Keith, but Shiro had specifically booked this chalet because of the oversized furniture could cater to larger alien species. He’d taken one look at the sitting room with its huge hearth and bookshelves complete with sliding ladder on one wall, and a chair that he could _actually_ curl up in (him!) and was sold. Now, leaning back against the pillows with Keith straddling his lap, plush lips working against his own, he couldn’t have been more pleased.

They’d finished their hot chocolates curled up side by side in the arm chair, and munched their way through half the snacks, chatting about what Krolia has been up to, and the specs on one of the new hoverbike models Shiro has been looking at, even if it’s impractical for him to actually buy it when he’s constantly flying around the galaxy and doesn’t really have a fixed address. The moment he’d set his cup down, however, Keith had swung a leg over to plant himself firmly in Shiro’s lap, and then licked the last of the chocolate off his lips.

“Hmm,” Keith murmurs as he pulls back with a nip to Shiro’s bottom lip. “Should we light a fire?” He gestures to the fireplace with a tilt of his head, but Shiro is reluctant to remove his hands from Keith’s hips now that they’ve made themselves at home.

“Baby,” he says instead, eyes half lidded, “you light my fire.”

Keith pauses, mouth half open as he processes what Shiro just said. Then he snaps his mouth shut and abruptly moves to get off Shiro’s lap. “Goodbye.”

“No!” Shiro starts to laugh grabbing at Keith’s arms, his hands as he tries to gracefully dismount despite Shiro’s octopus impression. He gets a hand in his face for is troubles but he can also see Keith trying not to laugh with him. “No, babe, wait, I’m sorry-”

“You’re not sorry, you’re so proud of yourself right now!” Keith loses his battle with his bubbling laughter right as Shiro loses his balance and they both go tumbling onto the plush rug, howling.

Shiro ends up with his head on Keith’s chest, smothering the last few giggles into his sweater. He can feel Keith’s long fingers threading through his hair, and he presses a kiss over his heart before propping his chin on Keith’s chest and looking up at him. “Hi.”

Keith’s eyes crinkle just a little at the corners. “Hi, yourself.” They just smile at each other for a moment, enjoying the atmosphere, before Keith beings to push at his shoulders. “Okay, off, I am actually getting cold and I want to see you light up this fireplace.”

“Hmm, you light up my life, so I guess I can light up yours,” Shiro pushes his face into the other man’s chest one more time before pushing up into a plank over top of him. Keith rolls his eyes at the showy move and the corny line, but Shiro just winks at him before he gets off and moves over to the hearth.

“It’s not a real fireplace-” he starts, moving his hand over to the activation panel. Keith lets out a loud groan and flops over on his side. He must have learned that move from the wolf. “You’re so judgemental. Not everyone knows how light a fire and keep it going safely!”

“I used to think this place was impressive,” he responds in a deadpan monotone. Shiro purses his lips before turning back to the controls - another Olkari tech adaptation that uses a combination of touch and thought to activate. He’s been playing around changing the colour and intensity of the flames it produces, and if he concentrates enough, he can get the right wood-fire scent to go along with it. Since Keith’s teasing him again, Shiro gets the hearth to roar to life with a strong wall of cherry red flames. The sound it produces startles Keith into sitting up, and his eyes are wide as he watches them dance.

“Okay,” he breathes after a minute. “So, that’s cool.”

Shiro snickers. “I had a feeling you’d like it.” He sends his arm to flip off the overhead lights, leaving one lamp and the fire to illuminate the room. The glow of the red flames, and the soft yellow of the lamp light up Keith’s features and reflect off his dark hair. He holds out one hand to Shiro, dark eyes expectant and almost glowing in the low light of the room. Shiro’s powerless to not reach for him, tugging him back up into the oversized chair and snagging a blanket from the back to tuck around them. The snow has stopped falling outside and the skies have cleared enough for three stars to poke through a gap in the clouds, with the promise of more as the night wears on.

They’re quiet for a while, fire crackling in the hearth and their own quiet breathing the only sounds. Shiro may not be exactly sure where they’re going from here, but he is certain they’re finally going together. There’s a lot of things to talk about, separate lives to sort out - will Keith move into the Atlas more permanently? Will they still be separated by so many Blades missions? There’s a lot of variables, but in this moment none of them seem insurmountable. He’s got his family by his side and his love in his arms, and- oh. He hasn’t told him that yet. That’s something Keith deserves to hear, having waited so long. Shiro traces his human fingers down that sharp jaw.

“Hey, beautiful.” Keith’s dark eyes are soft, looking up at him with his face framed between Shiro’s hands. He’ll never get over this look. He knows he’ll be thinking about this moment for the rest of his life. “I love you,” he says, and watches Keith’s eyes grow wide, before his expression cracks and he ducks away. Shiro can feel wetness on his thumb as he strokes Keith’s cheek, before he huffs out a damp breath, bringing one hand up to cover his face.

“Fuck,” Shiro lets him ride out the emotions, he can hear the smile in his voice despite the tears on his cheeks, can feel the way his lips curve against the side of his hand, and Keith looks back up at him after a long moment. “I know, I do, I just- god, I just never really thought I’d hear you say it?”

Shiro leans over to kiss his forehead. “I’ll say it as many times as it takes, Keith. I love you.”

Keith’s eyes are drying as he smiles up, eyes closed. He blinks them open to look at Shiro like he’s the whole world. “I love you too, Shiro. So much.”

“Thank you for waiting,” Shiro presses kisses down to his cheekbone, across his nose, to the wide scar on his right cheek. He sighs against it, and feels Keith’s hand come up to brush against his jaw.

“I’d wait forever for you.” Keith breathes it against his lips, rests his forehead against Shiro’s.

“You won’t have to anymore,” Shiro’s whisper is just as soft. “We’re in it together now.”

“Yeah?” Keith’s tone wavers just a bit, a hint of disbelief still in his eyes. Shiro links their pinkies together and gives a short tug. Keith laughs, and Shiro beams at him.

“Yeah.”

**Author's Note:**

> You can find me on my recently reactivated twitter [@thimblee](https://twitter.com/thimblee) where I'm attempting to be a human on the internet - I'm always up for shouting about sheith!


End file.
